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TURNERS FALLS — In the days before former Montague Tree Warden Mark Stevens died of pancreatic cancer on Oct. 17, he had one last job to complete. On Oct.

3, Stevens, in his pajamas and Crocs, placed “no parking” signs on the side of Avenue A where tree cutting would be done with the help of Carol, his wife of 14 years, and their close friends. “Mark never wanted to stop being the tree warden. It was just so weird how he didn’t want to stop being the tree warden.



He was always on it till the end,” Carol said of her late husband. For 37 years, Mark, who was 63, made his mark on the community with his dedicated service at the Montague Department of Public Works (DPW) since 1989, after graduating from the Franklin County Tech School in 1979. He started as a groundskeeper, and then lead groundskeeper from 2017 to 2021.

Mark served as tree warden from 2001 to 2024. His dedication ran so deep that it was only when he became so ill that he could not speak that he resigned from his position on Oct. 7 — just 10 days before he would die after a five-year battle with cancer.

In 2021, Stevens made the decision to step away from his role at the DPW after his ongoing battle with cancer made it increasingly difficult for him to continue as both lead groundskeeper and tree warden. Carol recalls that in one instance, he became so ill that he nearly died in 2020, but still wanted to work for the town for as long as possible. Stevens still served the community despite the circumst.

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